How to Make One Pan Chicken and Rice

This easy one-pan chicken and rice, also known as Country Captain, is one of my family's favorite dishes. Whenever one pan is part of the recipe, it ends up being a favorite of mine, too. I like easy!

A few years ago I picked up an issue of Southern Cast Iron at the grocery store. I loved it so much I put a subscription on my Christmas list.

My younger daughter ended up giving me a one-year subscription, and I've honestly not found a recipe in that magazine we didn't love.

I found this chicken recipe in one of those issues, but I have made some changes as my husband doesn't love green pepper and I was out of celery.

If you love chicken, you've got to try the first recipe I made, roasted chicken and vegetables.  I had been making a similar recipe for years, but upgrading it with fresh fennel took it to another level.

Make soup with the leftovers. You won't be sorry! You're going to love this chicken and rice recipe, too!

What You Need for One Pan Chicken and Rice

You'll need bone-in, skin-on, chicken thighs and legs. Keeping the skin on keeps the bird moist.

I know I have a lot of Weight Watchers and healthier eating readers, but take the skin off before eating if you must on this one. The skin really does give this so much flavor that it should be cooked with the skin on.

You'll also need vegetable oil, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, onion, garlic, long grain rice, and light brown sugar. For spices, you'll need curry powder, ground ginger, smoked paprika, and crushed red pepper.

Finally, this recipe will need chicken broth, golden raisins, a can of diced tomatoes, white vinegar, sliced almonds, and chopped fresh parsley.

How to Make Chicken and Rice in One Pan

Preheat your oven to 350º.

Chop onion and garlic and set aside.

Sprinkle chicken with 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and ½ teaspoon of freshly grated black pepper. Set aside.

Heat oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium.

Place chicken in skillet and cook, turning as it browns, for 8-1o minutes. Stoves vary, so the most important thing is that the skin is nice and brown without overcooking. Turn often.

Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

To the same skillet, add chopped onion, cooking until it's lightly browned.

Add garlic, cooking for about a minute.

Add rice, brown sugar, and spices, stirring until it's all combined. 

Add chicken broth, raisins, the other ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper.

Add chicken to the skillet, making room so it is on the bottom of the pan.

Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.

Place skillet in oven and bake until rice is cooked and meat is done, about 40 minutes. To check the meat, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest piece of thigh. It should register 160º when done.

While chicken is baking, lightly toast almonds and chop parsley.

Once done, take the chicken out of the oven. Carefully remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Add tomatoes and vinegar to the pan.

Stir the rice mixture and arrange chicken on top.

Cover the pan and let it stand for about 10 minutes.

Serve with sliced almonds and chopped parsley.

I like to serve this right on the dinner table, but if you have little ones in your house, it might be best to plate it at the stove. The pan will stay pretty warm for a while.

Can I Use Other Parts of the Chicken?

As with most of my recipes, you can switch up anything you think your family would like better. Feel free to use chicken breasts or wings (though they probably won't be as moist.)

You could also use turkey, duck, or any type of poultry. Cornish Hens would probably be amazing. I might be making that soon!

Can I Use Any Rice?

You can use any variety of rice, but different types of rice have different cooking times. We used long grain rice. Short grain rice takes a little longer to cook.

Brown rice and basmati take a lot longer to cook, so if that is what you're using, you should cook the rice first so the chicken doesn't get overdone. I would add the rice at the point where you 'stir the rice mixture and arrange chicken on top', and pop it back in the oven for that last 10 minutes. If it's a little dry, add more chicken broth.

Just as you check the chicken for doneness, check the rice. If it's not quite done, add a bit more broth and give it a little more time. 

Do I Have to Use the Red Pepper Flakes?

You can totally leave out the red pepper flakes, but using just the ⅛ teaspoon just gives the dish flavor, not heat. Feel free to add other spices if you have others that you like better.

Other Chicken Recipes

If you're looking for other chicken recipes, you should try this Chicken and Peaches recipe, my delicious Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti squash, and this lemon-lime Cast Iron Chicken.

One of the most popular recipes on my site is this Baked Hawaiian Chicken. Kids really love it!

If you're looking for comfort food, you'll love these recipes for easy chicken soups and stews.

I also have many Weight Watchers friendly recipes, like this Chicken Pot Pie and my Moroccan Chicken Soup.

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